About this project

ManaSurge

$13,160

pledged of $8,000 goal

473

backers

In ManaSurge, players use magic Spell cards with special game effects to boost the danger of the spell and keep it moving to avoid being hit. Play well and you can score a ManaSurge for bonus points but beware, just when you thought you were safe, another player can bounce the spell and send you reeling!

*Will not be sold, but may be given away at conventions or for other promotional reasons.

** Pledge at the Wizard Deluxe level to get your likeness included in the game. Our artist, Zulkarnaen Hasan Basri, will require several pictures of you three days from the completion of the campaign. If we don't get your pictures in time, we will move forward with production without including your image.

This mini-expansion introduces the Elementals that can change the suit of a card you play on your turn giving you more control on when to score!

Deluxe Game Contents

Everything in the Base Game plus...

6 Elemental Cards (all unique)

6 Tokens (one for each Spell type)

1 Rules Card

*Kickstarter Limited Exclusivity - Deluxe content will not be available through regular distribution. However, it will be available in limited supply at conventions, through contests, and online at the BGG Promo Store and the Daily Magic Games website.

In ManaSurge, 2-5 players become dueling wizards fighting for control of the legendary World Crystal, a much sought after relic among magic users that grants immense power to the wizard who masters it. The World Crystal will only submit to the wizard skilled enough to collect its power Shards through magical combat. To win, you must demonstrate your skill, your power and your cunning.

Beginning a Round

The Caster plays a numbered Spell card to establish the special rule for the round. They place a Shard on the card which is a potential victory point. They also place the Caster token on the card to remind players what the active spell card is for the round.

Since the Caster played a Frost Wave, they may use it's power and give 1 Spell card from their hand to the next player

Continuing the Round

Players take turns playing a valid card from their hand. A valid card is any card that is equal to or higher value to the previously played card, regardless of suit. If you don't match the Spell suit, then you do not activate the power written on the Spell card. If you do match, you are Resonating with the spell (see below).

A valid card can also be a Metamagic card that can divert the spell or warp it in different ways.

You can play a Spell card off-suit, but you won't get to use its power or get a bonus Shard for Resonating.

ManaSurge: At any point in the game when you play, discard, or give away the last card in your hand as part of a valid play, you experience a ManaSurge! Play is temporarily paused and you gain 2 Shards and draw up a new hand.

Resonating: When a player matches the Spell suit of the active spell they place a Shard token on the spell and may use the power written on the card (if appropriate). By matching suits, you increase your ability to score Shards (victory points) and make more powerful plays.

Counter-Spell: When a player matches the rank number of the previously played Spell card, they may declare a Counter-Spell and reverse the direction of play. This is can be powerful when your opponent is running low on cards. (2-player game: "...declare a Counter-Spell and skip the other player.")

Ending the Round

When a player cannot or chooses not to play a valid card, the spell ends and they are hit by the spell and discard any Shards on their cards. All other players take the Shards that are on cards they played for the round.

The player who played the last valid card gains a bonus Shard!

Damage: Players take Damage equal to the number of Shards on cards that are in play. Damage is represented by cards drawn from the deck and placed face-down in front of you.

Rebirth: If you ever have 5 or more Damage, you must perform a Rebirth ritual by discarding your hand, returning 1 Shard to the supply, and then drawing up the Damage in front of you as your new hand.

Meditate: In between spells, players can draw new cards from the deck to fill up their hand to 5. This is a great way to get new cards, but it also puts you further away from activating a ManaSurge, so use it wisely.

Victory!

The player who is cunning enough to gather 12 Shards (10 in a 5-player game and 15 in a 2-player game) is declared the master of the World Crystal!

We've done extensive testing and development of ManaSurge. It has evolved since Frank first conceived it a few years ago. We've sent it out for blind play testing to some well-respected gamers and reviewers. Here's what they have to say:

Check out what Tantrum House had to say about ManaSurge (Skip to 2:29 if you just want to hear their final thoughts on the game):

An Undead Viking Review (Skip to 12:00 for his final thoughts on the game):

Daniel Zayas of Smarter Backer (Skip to 11:50 if you just want his final thoughts on the game):

Still not convinced? Play the game yourself! We're offering the Base Game PnP for free so you can try out the game with you friends or just take a look at the rules. (BGG.com login required.)

Backing the game is a great way to support the project and we thank you for your support. The next best thing you could do is to help us build awareness for the game by following us and sharing our posts on Twitter and Facebook.

Here are some fun social media avatars to put on your profile so you can help build awareness to the campaign:

We'll be using ShipNaked as our fulfillment partner. They have a great track record of fulfilling games on time and offering great customer support to those in need. With their Customs-Friendly Worldwide™ service, we can get a guaranteed low price on shipping and make sure you don't get hit with extra fees.

We've built in a small discount for ALL shipping. We like to be completely transparent about everything we do. Here's a breakdown of the shipping costs and the discount you're receiving for pledging on Kickstarter.

If you'd like to add-on additional copies of ManaSurge or ManaSurge Deluxe beyond what is available in the pledge tiers, we ask that you wait until after the project has ended. We will be using PledgeManager to handle our post-Kickstarter add-ons and shipping address updates.

We can't produce this game without Kickstarter and without the support of generous backers like you. We believe we have a great game here and want to bring it to tables all over the world. Every dollar we make will go directly back in to making ManaSurge a better game. Our Stretch Goals are designed to add more content to the base game - so your pledge really makes a difference in making the best game possible.

Here are some incentives we are offering to all our backers:

36% discounted from MSRP. $16 on KS instead of $25 retail.

Some of our other Pledge tiers have steeper discounts to get stores, communities, and groups of friends in on the action.

Discounted Shipping. All pledge levels get $3 off.

The opportunity to get your likeness** in the game.

Get *Kickstarter Limited Exclusive content through ManaSurge Deluxe.

Daily Magic Games is a designer-friendly and customer-focused publisher specializing in casual tabletop games that are easy to learn and play, yet layered with strategy and depth.

We're based out of Seattle, Washington and like to focus on the growth and promotion of game design in the Pacific Northwest. We've even started a playtesting event network called playtestNW to help local designers meet each other and playtesters on a regular basis. Our hope is that we're helping designers build better games.

We are focused on listening to what our customers have to say and making sure that we are delivering the type of games they want at a high quality. We're happy to report that our previous Kickstarter games, Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge (delivering November 2015) and Valeria: Card Kingdoms (delivering January 2016) are on track for fulfillment as promised.

We like to make casual and gateway games in an effort to get more people to the table. Our games are easy to learn to help new players get in to the game faster, but they're also layered with strategy for the more seasoned players.

Risks and challenges

Daily Magic Games is committed to delivering quality products on time. We realize that the publication of a board game can be complicated and, no matter how experienced the project creators and mangers are, some problems may occur. In an effort to reduce the likelihood of delays and mistakes, we have taken several steps to prepare for success:

1. This game project, as well as the Kickstarter campaign itself, are in the hands of two well-seasoned professionals. David MacKenzie has been running Kickstarter projects since 2010 (Alien Frontiers, Sunrise City, Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge, Valeria: Card Kingdoms), and Isaias Vallejo comes from a digital game background as production and studio director at Big Fish Games and has designed two successful board games: Sunrise City and Valeria: Card Kingdoms.

2. We are dedicated to backer communication and feedback. Throughout the campaign, we will be as transparent about the process and as open to feedback as possible without jeopardizing production and delivery timelines.

3. We have done significant pre-production. All the art and graphic design for ManaSurge is completed with the exception of stretch goal content. The art and design for the stretch goal content has been sketched out and is ready to push forward as soon as each goal is achieved.

4. We have our manufacturer lined up and ready to begin the pre-press process as soon as the campaign ends.

We hope that everything goes as planned, but if something falls through the cracks, we are ready and willing to employ every tool at our disposal to get the project back on track and running smoothly.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

WIZARD DELUXE

This gets you ALL the game content and ALL the stretch goals.

This package includes 1 copy of the base game with the Kickstarter Limited Exclusive* Elementals Mini Expansion packed inside!

Your reward will be one of the advance copies of ManaSurge air-shipped to Daily Magic Games from the manufacturer. As such, you will be one of the first to own ManaSurge since you'll receive it weeks ahead of everyone else!

You will be drawn by the artist, Zulkarnaen Hasan Basri, and be included as one of the Wizard's in the base game. We will require several pictures of you three days from the completion of the campaign. If we don't get your pictures in time, we will move forward with production without including your image.

Your name will be listed in the rulebook of every copy produced for this first print run of ManaSurge.